This invention relates to a water-stop structure of an electric connection box having a harness protector mounted on its connection box body, in which the intrusion of water from the protector into the connection box body is prevented.
FIGS. 6 and 7 show one form of conventional water-stop structure of an electric connection box (see Patent Literature 1).
In this structure, a vertical opening 43 is formed in a main cover 42 made of a synthetic resin, and guide portions 44 are formed on opposite sides of the opening 43, respectively, and a block portion 45, having electric parts (such as relays and fuses) mounted thereon, is inserted into the interior of the main cover 42, and is fixed thereto, and wires, connected to the electric parts, are bundled together, and are passed outwardly through the opening 43, and a protector 46, including a half-split tubular portion 47 for harness-guiding purposes and a flange-like cover plate 48, is slidingly engaged in the guide portions 44 as shown in FIG. 7, so that the opening 43 is closed by the cover plate 48, and the upper side of the wire bundle is covered with the tubular portion 47 of the protector 46, and upper and lower covers (not shown), each made of a synthetic resin, are fitted on the main cover 42, thereby preventing rainwater from intruding into the opening 43 from the upper side.
The main cover 42, the block portion 45, the electric parts (such as relays and fuses) and the upper and lower covers jointly form the electric connection box 41. The harness-guiding tubular portion 47 is slanting downwardly, so that the intrusion of rainwater or the like into the tubular portion is prevented. The protector 46, including the tubular portion 47 and the cover plate 48, is molded into an integral construction, using a synthetic resin.
Patent Literature 1
JP-A-8-322128
In the above conventional structure, there is no problem when the electric connection box 41 is mounted at a place where waterdrops fall only from the upper side. However, when the electric connection box was mounted at a place, such for example as in an engine room, where Water was hard splashed up from the lower side, there was a fear that water entered the wire-guiding tubular portion 47 from the lower side, and flowed along the tubular portion 47 to intrude into the main cover 42, or water intruded into the main cover 42 through a gap between the cover plate (flange wall) and each guide portion 44.